


Back To Me

by shadowsamurai



Series: Back to.... [2]
Category: Waking the Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Subtext
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-30
Updated: 2012-06-30
Packaged: 2017-11-08 21:43:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/447872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowsamurai/pseuds/shadowsamurai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Boyd wants Grace to come back to him - why is that so important to him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Back To Me

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Season 6, episodes 9 and 10, 'Double Bind'.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm just borrowing things for a while and I promise I'll put everything back exactly how I found it when I've finished. Well, almost exactly how I found it. ;)

WtD-WtD-WtD-WtD-WtD-WtD

Boyd sat in his office doing paperwork. He hated paperwork. Hated it with a passion. Sighing, he took his glasses off and threw them onto his desk, leant back in his chair and stretched. Out of habit he glanced to the side to Grace's office, but she wasn't there. She had left and it was his fault. Of course, he knew she'd be back soon but that wasn't the point. Boyd had trouble making friends mainly because of his quick temper and abrasive nature, and he always managed to push people away, but not Grace. Never Grace. She stayed and gave him as good as she got, and he liked that about her. But then he had pushed even her too far, and it had been the one case Boyd had really needed his psychological profiler. Bloody typical. But it had proven a point that Boyd didn't really need reminding of; he didn't just need a profiler, he needed Grace.

A knock on his door made him snap out of his reverie, and he opened his eyes slowly. "Did I wake you?" Grace asked in a light tone, her eyes sparkling.

"No, I was just…resting. From doing paperwork," Boyd said, gesturing needlessly at his cluttered desk.

"I see."

Boyd could tell by Grace's tone that she was convinced that she was right, that he had been sleeping, so he changed the conversation quickly before it had the chance to spiral into another argument. Not that it would make much difference; if fate wanted them to argue, it would bloody well find a way.

"Can I help you with something, Grace?" he asked politely, and felt a spark of smug satisfaction when she looked surprised.

But she recovered quickly. "Yes, actually."

"Aren't you still supposed to be on leave, or mad at me, or something?" Boyd asked curiously.

Grace ignored him. "The next time you want to know something, either ask me or ask if you can use my books. Don't just go barging into my office and rifling through my shelves. Don't think I didn't notice that things were out of place."

Boyd opened his mouth to make a typically defensive retort, but he closed it again before he could speak. For a few long moments, he just stared Grace, and he could tell she was confused by his scrutiny. Not uncomfortable, just trying to work out what he was up to.

"I'm sorry."

Grace stared at the man before her. He hadn't just said that…had he? "Can I come in?" she asked.

"By all means," Boyd answered.

Grace closed the door, sat on the sofa, and once comfy, focussed on Boyd again. "Why did you through my books?" she asked softly.

"Isn't it obvious, Grace? I needed answers and you…." Boyd paused. He could feel himself getting worked up and the last thing he wanted to do was explode at his friend again, especially considering this was all his fault really. "And you weren't here to ask," he finished as calmly as he could manage. "I needed you and you weren't here, so I looked in your books instead."

"You needed me?" Grace repeated in surprise. She had come back to the building that night to talk with Boyd, but this was not the conversation she expecting to participate in. "Why didn't you phone?"

"I did, Grace, I did phone and I got your answer machine. You know I hate those bloody things," Boyd replied, waving his hand about.

She smiled. "Yes, I do."

Silence descended again and Boyd found it deafening. There was so much he wanted to say, but words had never been his strong suit. However, he decided there was no time like the present to at least try. "Thanks…for your help with the case. Will Mark be alright?" he asked.

"Yes, with the right help, I'm sure he will be," Grace replied, relaxing more now she saw Boyd was controlling himself.

"Look, Grace, I'm sorry I snapped at you. It's just that in my position…." The speech Boyd had worked out in his head simply disintegrated now he was actually facing the woman he had upset. The woman he cared about so much. He wanted to tell her everything, but his voice refused to cooperate. But he had to try. "You were right, Grace," he said quietly. "I didn't go to Mel's funeral because I couldn't accept she was dead. Going would have made it real, and I would have had to deal with the fact that she died on my watch. It's my job to protect my team, I'm responsible for them."

"But you couldn't have stopped what happened to Mel," Grace reasoned.

"It should have been me," Boyd said quietly.

"You don't mean that."

"Why don't I, Grace? Mel had a promising career, a life in front of her, and what have I got?"

"Us," Grace replied. "You told me once that we were a family, Boyd, and we are. Families argue and fight, but they're always there for each other. Don't forget that."

Boyd nodded. "I…I upset you, Grace, and I am sorry. I know I should control myself better, but it's just so bloody difficult sometimes, you know?"

"Boyd, I am coming back, there's no need to keep apologising," Grace said in a light tone.

"I know, I know. But…would you come back to me, Grace?" Boyd asked, looking her right in the eyes.

"I don't know what you mean."

"I don't just need you because you're damn good at your job…."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, no more compliments for the rest of the year," he told her. "I need you to keep me sane, to stop me from making a fool of myself."

Grace laughed. "As if I could stop that from happening."

"Alright, point taken, but still. I do need you, Grace. I miss talking to you."

"Boyd, we don't talk."

"We used to."

"We don't now."

"I'd like us to."

"You're willing to try?"

"I am."

"Well that must be a first."

"Be nice, Grace, I'm trying here," Boyd said in a whining voice.

"Yes, you are very trying," Grace replied with a smile.

"Grace," Boyd whined again.

"Boyd," she replied in the same tone of voice, and they stared at each other for a matter of seconds before they both grinned.

"So, you'll come back?"

Grace rolled her eyes. "I already told you I would."

"To me."  
"Why is that so important to you? You keep saying it but I still don't know what you mean exactly. You're almost telling me something," Grace said.

Boyd just stared at her. "Do you want a drink?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

Boyd opened his bottom drawer and took out a bottle of red wine, two glasses and a corkscrew. He opened the bottle, walked over to Grace and handed her the glasses. Once he'd poured the wine, he took a glass from her and sat at his desk, but not behind it. He wanted to be close to her but not too close.

"You remember the Tony Greene case from last year?" Boyd asked.

Grace shuddered. "How could I forget?" She slipped her shoes off and curled up on the couch, her legs almost tucked under her. Boyd thought she looked vulnerable like that, and he found himself wanting to comfort her.

"Do you remember what we talked about afterwards?"

"Of course. We talked about me and Harry, and how you could have easily died - and it was still a stupid thing to do, by the way," Grace told him.

"Yeah, well," Boyd replied, shrugging. "And you remember I told you I did it because I cared about you?"

Grace nodded. "Because we're a family."

Boyd rubbed his cheek and looked away from his friend. "Not just because of that. I care about you, Grace," he said, emphasising the words.

"I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me, Boyd."

"Oh, of course you do, Grace!" Boyd said exasperatedly. "I'm talking about me and you, you and me. Me caring about you more than a colleague or a friend."

"Oh."  
Boyd stared at her while she sipped her wine. "Oh? *Oh?* That's all you can say?"

"Well what do you want me to say, Boyd?"

"I don't know. Something, anything except 'oh'!"

Grace uncurled herself from the couch, slipped her shoes back and placed her glass on the floor. "I think I'd better go."

"Oh, Grace, please don't leave again, not now. Why can't we just talk about this?" Boyd asked. "You're always trying to get me to talk about my feelings and when I do, you run away!"

"Don't look at me like that, Boyd," she told him.

"Like what?"

"Like that, like a naughty school boy or a lost puppy."

"How am I supposed to look, Grace? You're walking out, *again*."

Grace paused with her hand on the door handle. She had waited so long for Boyd to realise how he felt, but now he had admitted it, she wasn't sure she felt the same way. Maybe she was just scared, or maybe she had grown tired of waiting. Grace didn't want to give him false hope, but something made her turn around and look at Boyd.

He sat staring at her, his glass of wine on the desk behind him. He looked tired and dejected, and Grace had never seen him look more serious about anything. If she was sure of one thing, it was that Boyd meant what he had said. He did care about her, so much that he was willing to die for her without a second thought, and not because it was part of his job to protect his team.

Grace crossed the room and placed the palm of her hand gently against his bearded cheek. "Walking out and leaving aren't the same things. Yes, I'm leaving your office but I'm not exactly leaving you," she said. "I just need a little time. And please don't ask me to come back to you again - I can't make that promise, and I don't want to hurt you."

Boyd reached up and removed Grace's hand from his cheek. He squeezed her hand and then kissed the back of it before letting her go. "Okay."

Grace smiled. "Okay." She walked back to the door, opened it and went out into the bullpen.

"I'll just wait here then, shall I?" Boyd called after her in a mischievous tone.

"Night, Boyd," Grace yelled back.

FIN


End file.
